Steve Mildenhall
Goalkeeper Steve Mildenhall joined Rovers on loan from Millwall on new year's day 2013 on a loan deal that lasted until the end of the 2012–13 season. He was drafted in due to an injury to the club's senior goalkeeper, Scott Bevan, causing him to miss the entire season. Mildenhall followed in the footsteps of Sam Walker and Neil Etheridge, who had both been brought in on loan earlier in the season to cover for Bevan. The arrival of Mildenhall brought about in immediate improvement in the club's woeful defensive record, with the team conceding just ten goals in the thirteen games after his arrival, compared with 31 goals conceded in the thirteen matches immediately before he arrived. By the time his loan expired at the end of the season he had made 22 appearances, all of which were in League Two. Career Steve began his career with his home town club, Swindon Town, joining the professional ranks at the beginning of the 1995–96 season. He didn't make any first team appearances in his first year as a professional, and had to wait until the following season when he was loaned out to Gloucester City to make his debut in senior football, in a 2–1 win over Crawley Town on 9 November 1996. He played a total of eight games for The Tigers, seven in in the Southern League (then known as the Beazer Homes League) and one in the Southern League Cup, returning to his parent club in towards the end of December 1996. The following month he made his Football League debut for Swindon, remarkably coming on as a substitute outfield player, replacing midfielder Kevin Watson against Tranmere Rovers on 10 January 1997. He went on to have loan spells at Worcester City and Salisbury City (x3) before finally starting to establish himself as a Football League-quality 'keeper. After playing in exactly half of The Robins' league games in the 2000–01 season he was signed by Notts County, who paid a £150,000 transfer fee for his services. He made 76 league appearances in just over three years with The Magpies, before signing for Oldham Athletic in December 2004, but a broken finger restricted his opportunities and he left the following summer having made just six appearances. Next up was a year with Grimsby Town, where he was an ever-present in the side during the 2005–06 season, before spending two years with Yeovil Town, where he made a total of 75 league appearances. Southend United gave Steve a three-year contract in the summer of 2008, but the deal was cancelled by mutual consent a year early, enabling him to join Millwall in 2010. After making just ten league and five cup appearances in two years with The Lions, he was loaned out firstly to Scunthorpe United and then to Bristol Rovers during the 2012–13 season. Career stats Record against Rovers Steve has played against Rovers seven times in his career, once for Swindon Town, three times for Grimsby Town and three times for Southend United. He was on the winning side for three of those games, lost three times and drew once. Category:Players Category:Loaned players Category:Goalkeepers Category:13 May Category:Players born in 1979 Category:Players who joined in 2013 Category:Swindon Town Category:Gloucester City Category:Worcester City Category:Salisbury City Category:Notts County Category:Oldham Athletic Category:Grimsby Town Category:Yeovil Town Category:Southend United Category:Millwall Category:Scunthorpe United